Merchandise-delivery cabinet



' 1,645,694 Oct.V 18, 1927. s. ESGRO MERCHANDISE DELIVERY CABINET Filed Dec. 50. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor ttarnqy I 1,645,694 octd 1s. 1927. s. ESGRO i IERCHNDISE DELIVERY CABINET Filed Dec. 30. 1926 3 Sheets-Shut 2 Q m i By l@ Attorney Oct, l18,1927. s. ESGRO IERGHANDISE DELIVERY CABINET Filed Dec. 30. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lnfvenmr Patented Qct. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES SAMUEL ESGRO, OF CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI. i

MERCHANDISE-DELIVERY CABINET.

Application led December 30, 1926. Serial No. 158,006.

The present invention relates to stores generally for dispensing merchandise such as groceries and the like, and the principal object of the invention lies in the provision of a cabinet which displays the merchandise for sale and at each article of merchandise has a receptacle for cards with indicia thereon designating the particular merchandise and the price thereof so that the customer may take` m cards corresponding to the merchandise desired. These cards are then presented to a cashier who presses buttons having indicia thereon corresponding to the cards and the merchandise are automatically delivered to 5 a wrapping counter. Associated with the delivering mechanism is a plurality of counting devices so that the number of each merchandise sold may be ascertained immediately' so that stock may be taken with little o r no trouble'and a proper check up made of the sales for each day. v

Another very important object of the invention lies in the provision 'of a plurality of compartments for containing merchandise such as canned goods, one above the other. Each compartment is slanted upwardly and has a kicker mechanism associated with the lower or outlet end thereof. This kickei mechanism is operated by the cashier by the pressing of the proper button. The buttons are grouped at a cashiers desk so that they will be convenient to the cashier and compactly disposed.

, With the above and numerous other objects in view as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in certain novel features of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan View of the cabinet embodying the features of my invention, showing portions in section,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken therethrough,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail vertical section through one of the article compartments,

Figure-4 is a similar view showing the compartment empty with the follower in a position to prevent the operation of the kicker,

Figure 5 is a detail transverse section taken subsantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail vertical section through the cashiers desk,

Figure 7 is a plan view of one of the buttons and operating levers, and

Flgure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of one of the side walls of the cabinet.

Referring to the drawing in detail it will be seen that the cabinet includes the front wall 5, side walls 6, and rear walls 7, the mtermediate portion of the front wall 5 is bowed inwardly as at 8, and a cashiers desk 9 extends into this bowed portion 8 and is of arcuate formation as is clearly disclosed 1n Figure 1. The rear wall 7 has openings therein closed by hingedly mounted doors 10 to allow access to the interior of the cabinet. In actual practice access to the interior of the cabinet will be permissible only to attendants ofthe store. Along the side and rear walls 6 and 7, respectively, there are formed a plurality' of display compartments 12 for containing the various di tferent kinds of merchandise on sale. Thus .in one compartment 12 there would be disposed a certain brand of tomatoes, another compartment another brand of tomatoes, in still another compartment a brand of peas, etc.

At a convenient point in each compartment 12, in the present instance at the bottom thereof, there is mounted a card receptacle 14 which will display a price tag which may also have other indicia thereon indicative of the brand of goods in that particular compartment. In these receptacles 14 there will e disposed a plurality of cards or tickets having rinted thereon suitable indicia representative of the goods in the particular compartment and with the price thereon. Now the customer selects the merchandise to be bought by collecting the cards or tickets of the receptacles 14, and presents these cards to a-cashier who will be seated on a chair or the like as at 15 in front of the cashiers desk 9. The various `buttons 16 are conveniently disposed in relation to the cashiers chair on the seat 15, and have printed thereon suitable indicia as is shown in Figure-7 representative of the articular merchandise controlled thereby. f course there will be one of these buttons 16 for each of the various tickets in the receptacles 14. Thus if the customer presents a ticket with Eagle brand corn 15 cents, the cashier will push downwardly on the button 16 having the same indicia thereon. These buttons 16 are mounted on the front extremities of operating lever 17 which are pivoted intermediate 'their ends as at18 and are held in a suband one at each side, although any other suitable arrangement may be provided.

Under each row of compartments 20 there is disposed an endless conveying mechanism 21 consisting of an endless belt trained over pulleys 22 and 23. The upper runs of the endless conveyor 21 are supported or braced as is indicated at 24. Each compartment slants upwardly and rearwardly as is disclosed to advantage in Figures 2 to 4 inclusive. All of these compartments are identical in formation and a detail description of one will suffice for all. Each compartment includes a front wall 25, a rear wall 26, side walls 27 which project perpendicularly from rear wall 26 and terminate a distance from the front wall 25 and a stop bracket of L-shaped formation disclosed aty 28. The rear wall 26 terminates at a lower level than the front wall 25 so that when merchandise such as canned goods is disosed in the compartment one thereof may iie ejected forwardly therefrom. In order to eject a bottom can, a bracket 29 is mounted on the rear face of the rear wall and pivotally supports as at 30 a bell crank 31, one end of which has a right angled extension 32 forming a kicker, said extension 32 being disposed to operate through an opening 34 in the bottom end of the rear wall 26 and through a suitable opening in the bracket structure 32. A cord, cable, or the like 35 is engaged with the other extremity of the bell crank 31 and extends downwardly and is trained over a ulley 37 and the cord then proceeds forward y to be trained over pulleys 37 and 38, and is engaged with the inner end of the corresponding lever 17. Thus, by

pushing down on the outer end of said cor-y responding -lever 17 the cord or cable is pulled to rock the bell crank 31, thereby pushing the kicker 32 forwardly and ejecting the bottom can from the chute or compartment so that the same will fall down on the endless conveyor 21. This detailed description of a single unit of/ the kickers and operating mechanisms therefor will suffice for all as they all include the same essential elements.

A shaft 39 operates all of the pulleys 22 aiid in turn is operated by an electric motor 40 or any other suitable means through an endless member 41. An endless conveyor 42 extends transversely of the cabinet at the front end thereof under the forward ends of the endless conveyors 21 sothat the cans delivered 4from said endless conveyor 21 will drop on the endless conveyor 42 to be conveyed to the wrapping counter 43 located at one side of the cabinet. This endless conveyor 42 'is trained over pulleys 44 and 45, the latter of which is o positely connected through an endless mem er 47 with an electric motor 48. The particular operating means for these endless conveyors is not of the essence of this invention and may be varied to suit the requirements.

From the above detailed description it will be seen that I have devised a very desirable, simple, eicient, and reliable automatic delivering merchandise cabinet which may be used to great advantage in the grocery business and the like. It enables the customer to selectthe goods desired merely by making a collecting of the. tickets in the cabinets disposed in the receptacles 14, and handingthese tickets tothe cashier who will, after being paid, press the necessary keys or buttons to cause the various articles to be delivered to the wrappin counter. In this way the cashier does not lave to handle the goods, and by installing suitable counting mechanism operable by the bell cranks 31, a strict account of the goods sold may be kept. Furthermore, thisr device eliminates the necessity of a purchaser or customer carrying goods about the store, that is collecting the various goods and carrying them about to be checked up afterwards. On the yother hand, the customer never has to touch the goods until they are wrapped at the wrapping counter. The system practically eliminates all mistakes and affords a most desirable means of selling canned goods, package goods and the like in an accurate, sanitary, and attractive manner. The numerous advantages of this improved merchandise selling and delivering cabinet constructed in accordance with the foregoing invention will be perfectly clear without further explanation or description, and it will also be obvious by my invention that I have provided a simple, useful and very sanitary mechanism for the purposes hereinbefore specified.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention which in actual practice attains the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement, it is obvious that the same will be susceptible of minor changes and modifications without departin from the rinciple and scope thereof an for the oregoing reason I wish it hereby clearly understood that I do not limit myself to the precise arrangement and formation of the several parts shown, but consider myself at liberty to make such detail changes and variations therein as fairly lie within the scope of the appended claims.

In each compartment 26 there is mounted a follower 50 which is disposed on top of the goods, and will come to the bottom when the compartments are empty to the position shown clearly in Figure 4. The lower end of this follower 50 is notched as at 51 so as to receive the inner end of the kicker 32 so as to prevent the operation thereof. Thus When the cashier cannot press one of the keys, 'she or he knows that the particular compartment is empty and needs relhng or that the store is out of that particular brand of goods.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. -A device of the class described, including, in combination. means for displaying goods so that the different brands thereof will be segregated, means for storing tickets adjacent each brand of oods so that the tickets may be collected y a customer, a cashiers desk, delivery means for the different brands of goods, on displag, and means for controlling the same y the cashier upon the presentation of tickets by the customer.

2 A device of the class described including, in combination, means for displaying a plurality of brands of goods, and means for holding tickets representative of said brands of goods so that said tickets may be collected by a customer, a plurality of compartments for holdin the goods to be sold, endless conveyors uner said compartments for delivering goods there-from, releasing mechanisms associated with the compartments, a cashiers desk, and means at the cashiers desk for operating said releasing mechanism.

3. A device of ing, in combination, means for displaying a plurality of brands of goods, and means for holding tickets representative of said brands of goods so that said tickets may be co1- lected by a customer, a plurality of compartments for holdin the goods to be sold, endless conveyors un er said compartments for delivering goods therefrom, releasing mechanisms associated with the compartments, a cashiers desk, means at the cashiers desk for operating said releasing mechanism, each releasing mechanism having associated therewith a kicking element.

4. A device of the class described including, in combination, means for displaying a plurality of brands of goods, and means for holding tickets representative of said brandsy of goods so that said tickets by a customer, a plurality of compartments for holding the goods to be sold, endless conveyors under said compartments for delivering goods therefrom, releasing mechanisms associated with the compartments, a cashiers desk, means at the cashiers desk for operating said releasing mechanism, each releasing mechanism having associated therewith a kicking element, al follower slidably mounted in each compartment and constructed to prevent the o'peration of the releasing lnechanism when the compartment is emptyl.' si In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

- SAMUEL ESGRO.

may be collected the class described includ- 

